SIIE TWENTY - SECOND AT
WASHINGTON.
EXCITING MEETINGS.
S'lleedt: by ,President Johnson,
DEFENCE OF HIS POLICY, &c.
19AsGTON, Feb. 22.e—After the - ad
journment of the meeting at Grover's Thea
ups the assemblage visited the White House
to serenade President Johnson. The Chair
man of the meeting at the theatre announced
to the multitude that Mr. Johnson had con
sented to address them. Mr. Tendon said :
Fellow-citizens, I am one of the committee
which, on behalf of the people of the District
of Columbia, has just waited on the Presi
dent of the United States to present to him
the resolutions adopted by the meeting held
to-day. The committee requested the Pre
sident to present himself to you- to give ex
prersion to his sentiments, and he has ac
cordingly come out to do so.- -
The President, as . he appeared, was re
ceived with enthusiastic and long continued
applause. When it had subsided, he spoke
as follows : - •
Fellow-citizens, for I presame T have a
right to address you as such, I come to ten
der 'to you my sincere thanks for the appro
bation expressed by your Committee In
their personal address and in the resolutions
submitted by them - as having been adopted
by the meeting which has been held in this
city to-day. These resolutions, as I under
- stand them, are complimentary to the policy
which has been adopted by tb,p Administra
tion, and has been steadily putsued since it
came into power. I am free to say to you on
this occasion that it is extremely gratifying
to me to know that so large a portion of my
fellow-citizens approve and indorse the p °tidy
which has been adopted and which it is my
intention shall be carried out. [Great ap
•plause.] That policy is one which is intended
to restore all the States to their original re
lations to the Federal Government of the
United States. [Renewed applause.]
This seems to be a day peculiary appro
, priate for such a manifestation. It is tha
day that gave birth to that man who more,
perhaps, than any other, founded this Gov
ernment. It is the day that gave birth to
the Father of our country. It is the day
that gave birth to him who presided over
that body which turned the Constitution
under which all the States entered into this
glorious Confederacy. Such a day is peen
liary appropriate for the indorsement of a
policy whose object is the restoration of the
union of the States as it was designed by
the Father of his country. (Applause.)
Washington, whose name this city bears,
is embalmed in the hearts of all those who
love free Government. Washington, in the
`language of his eulogist, was first in war,
. first in peace, and first in the hearts of his
countrymen. No people can claim him, no
- nation can appropriate him. His reputa
tion is commensurate with the civilized
' s ' .. world, and his name is the common prc
.
perty of all those who love free government
To-day 1 had the pleasure of visiting an
association who have been devoting their
t efforts to the completion of the monument
which is being erected to his name. I was
. proud to meet them, and, so far as I could,
4oto give them my influence and countenance
in aid of the work they have undertaken.
,%-tl'hat monument which is being erected to
' him who, I may say; founded the Govern
ment, is almost within the throw of a stone
ofethe spot from which I now address you.
`‘ Let it be completed. [Applause.] Let those
various blocks which the States, and indi
viduals, and associations, and corporations,
have put in that monument as piedges of
their love for this Union be preserved, and
let the work be accomplished.
In this connection let me refer to the block
from my own. ,State, God bless her [ap
plause]! which has struggled for the preser
vation of this Union- in the field and in the
councils of the nation, and which is now
struggling to renew her relations with this
Goyernment, that were interrupted by a
fearful rebellion. She is now struggling to
renew those relations, and to take her stand
Where she- had ever stood since 1796 until
thiambellion broke out. [Great applause].
Let me repeat the sentiment that that State
has -inscribed upon the stone which she has
deposited .in -that monument of freedom
which is being raised in commemoration of
Washington. She is struggling to get back
Into the Union, and to stand by the senti
ment which is there inscribed, and she is
willing to sustain it. What is it ? It is the
sentiment which was enunciated by her dis
tinguished son, the immortal, the illustrious
Jackson, "The Federal Union—it must be
preserved." [GreaVapplause]. If it were
possible for that old man, whose statue is
now before me, and whose portrait is behind
me in the Executive Mansion, and whose
sentiment is thus preserved in that monu
ment in your vicinity, to be called forth
from the grave, or if it were possible to com
municate with the spirit of the illustrious
dead, and make him understand the pro
gress of faction and of rebellion and treason,
be would turn over in his coffin, and he
would rise, and shaking off the habiliments
of the tomb, would again stand erect, and
extend forth his long arm and finger, and
reiterate that sentiment, once expressed by
- him on a memorable occasion, "The Federal
Union—it must be preserved." [Great ap
plause].
We have witnessed what has transpired
since his day. In 1833, when treason and
treachery and infidelity to the Government
and constitution of the l7nited States stalked
forth in the land, it was his power and in
fluence that crushed the serpent in its inci
piency. It was then stopped, but only for
a time. The same spirit of disaffection
continues. There were men disaffected to
the Government, both in the North and in
the South.
There was, in a portion of the Union, a
peculiar institution, of which some com
plained, and to which others were attached.
One portion of our countrymen in the
poutli advocated that institution, while
another portion in the North opposed it.
The result was the formation of extreme
parties, one especially in the South, which
reached a point atwhich it was proposed to
dissolve the 'Union of the States for the par
c. as was said, of securing and preserv
ing that peculiar institution. There was
another portion of our countrymen who
• were opposed to that institution, and who
went to such an extreme that they were
Willing to break up the Government in
order to get clear of that peculiar institution
of the South. .
I say these things because I desire to talk
plainly and in familiar phraseology. I as
.Bi:true-nothing here to-day beyond the posi
tion of a citizen; one who has been pleading s ,
for his country and the preservation of the '
Constitution. [lmmense cheeringo These
two parties, I say, were arrayed against
each other, and I stand here before you for
the Union to-day, as I stood in the Senate
• of the United States in 1860 and 1861.
I met there those who were making war
upon the Constitution, those who wanted to
disrupt the Government, and I denounced
them m my place then and there, and ex
posed their true character. I said that
those who were engaged in the work of
breaking up:the Government were traitors.
I have never :ceased, on all proper occa
sions, to repeat that sentiment, and as far as
my; efforts could go, I have endeavored to
harry it out. [Great applause.] I have just
remarked, that there were two parties, one
of which was, for destroying the Govern
ment and separating the. Union, in order to
prefierve slavery, and the otherfor breaking
EP the Government, in order t 9 destroy
s l a very, True, the objects which they
sought to accomplish were di erentito far,
as slavery was concerned, but, they agreed
in the desire to break up the 'Government,
the precise thing to which I have always
been. opposed;;and whether disunionists
come from the South or from the North, 'I
stand now as I did then, vindicating the
union -of these States and the Constitution
of my country. [Tremendous applause.]
Rebellion and treason manifested them-
selves in the South. I stood, by the govern
ment. I said then that I Viisifor the Union
with slavery. I was for the Union without
slavery. In either alternative s I was for my
government and its Constitution. The go
vernment has stretched forth its strong
arm, and with its physical power it has put
down treason in the Meld. The section of
the country which then arrayed itself
against the government has been put down
by thestrong arm. What did we say when
this treason originated?' We said "No com
promise; you yourselves in the South can
settle this , question in eight and forty
hours." I said again and again ! and I re
peat it now, "Disband your armies in the
South, acknowledge the supremacy of the
Constitution of the United States, acknow
ledge the duty of obedience to the laws,and
the whole question is settled: [Applause.]
What has been done since?
Their armies have been disbanded, and
they come forward now in a proper spirit
arid say, "We were mistaken. We made an
Effort to carry out the doctrine of Secession
and to dissolve this Union. In that we have
failed. We have traced this doctrine to its
logical and physical results, and we find
that we were mistaken. We acknowledge
the flag of our country, and are willing to
obey the Constitution and to yield to the
supremaCy of the laws." [Great applause.]
Coming in that spirit, I say to them, "When
you have complied with the requirements
of the Constitution, when you have ac
knowledged your allegiance to the Consti
tution, when you have yielded to the law,
I will so far as I can, open the door
of the Union to those who had erred and
strayed from the fold of their fathers for a
time. [Great applause.] Who has suffered
more by the rebellion than I have? I shall
not repeat the story of the wrongs and suf
ferings inflicted upon me; but the spirit of
revenge is not the spirit in which to deal
with a wronged people. I know there has
been a great deal said about the exercise of
thepardoning power, so far as your Execu
tive is concerned.
There is no one who, has labored with
more earnestness than myself to have the
principal intelligent and conscious traitors
brought to justice, the law vindicated, and
the great tact judicially established that
treason is a crime [applause], but while con-
scions, leading and intelligent traitors are
to be punished, should whole communities
and States.and people be made to submit to
the penalty of death? No, no!
I have perhaps as much asperity and as
much resentment as men ought to have, but
we must reason in great matters of govern
ment about man as he is; we must conform
our actions and our conduct to the example
of Him who fokuded our holy 'religion' not
that I would make such a comparison on
this occasion in any personal aspect.
I came into this place under the constitu
tion of the country and by the approbation,
of the people, and what did I find? I found
eight millions of people who were in fact
condemned under the law, and the penalty
was death. Was Ito yield to the spirjt of
revenge and resentment, and declare that
they should all be annihilated and des
troyed? How different would this have
been from the example set by the Holy
Founder of our religion, the extremities of
whose divine arch rest upon the horizon,
and whose span embraces the universe!
He who founded this great scheme camp
into the world and found man condemned
under the law, and his sentence was death.
What was His example? Instead of putting
the world, or even a nation to death, He
died upon the cross, attesting, by His
wounds and His blood, that He died that
mankind might live. [Great applause,]
Let those who have erred repent, let them
acknowledge their allegiance, let- them be
come loyal,willing supporters and defenders
of our glorious Star and Stripes and of the
Constitution of our country. Let the leaders,
the conscious, intelligent traitors be pun
ished and be subjected to the penalties of
the law [applause], but to the great mass
who have been forced into this rebellion in
many instances, and in others have been
misled, I say clemency, kindness, trust and
confidence. [Great applause].
My countrymen, when I look back over
the history of the rebellion, I am not vain
when I ask you if I have not given as much
evidence of my devotion to the Union as
some who croak a great deal about it; when
I look back over the battle-fields of the re
bellion I think of thelmany:brave men iii
whose company I was; I cannot but recol
lect that I was sometimes in places where
the contest was most difficult and the result
most doubtful; but almost before the smoke
has Teased away, , almost before the blooe.
that has been shed has done reeking, before
the bodies of the slain hays passed through
the stages of dec.omposition, what do we
now fine
The rebellion has been put down by the
strong arm of the Government in the field,
but is that the only way in which you can
have rebellion? Our struggle was against
an attempt to dissever the Union, but al
most before the smoke of the battle-field
has passed away, before ourrave men have
all returned to their homes and renewed
the ties of affection and love. to their wives
and their children, we find almost another
rebellion inaugurated. We put down the
former rebellion in order o prevent the
separation of the States, to prevent them
from flying off, and thereby changing the
character of our Government and weaken
ing its power, but when that struggle on
oar part has been successffil, and that at
tempt has been put down, we find now an
effort to concentrate all power in the hands
of a few at the Federal head, and thereby
1.1
bring about a consolidation of the Govern
ment, which is equally objectionable with a
'separation. [Vociferous a plause.] .We
find that powers are ass rued, and at
tempted to be exercised, of a moat extraor
dinary character. It seems that Govern
ments may be revolutioniged. Govern
ments, at least, may be changed without
going through the strife of battle. I believe
it is a fact attested in history that some
times revolutions most disastrous to a
people are effected without the shedding of
blond The substance of your Government
may be taken away, while , the form, and
the shadow remain to you. What is now
being proposed?
We find that in point of fact nearly all the
powers of the Government are assumed by
an irresponsible central directory, which
-does not even consult the legislative or the
Executive Departments of the Government;
by resolutions reported from a committee,
in whom it seems that practierdly the' legis
lative power of the Government is now
vested; that great principle f the Constitu
tion;a which authorizes and empowers each
branch of the Legislative D partnaent of the
Senate and the House of R presentatives to
judge for itself of the election returns and
qualifications of its own members has been
virtually taken away from the two branches
of the Legislative Department of the Govern
ment, and conferred upon committee who,
must report before either House can act
under the ' Constitution as accepting the
members who are to tak their seats as
i
l
component parts of the resPective bodies.
By this rule it is assume that there must
be laws passed recognizing a State as in thq
'Union, or its practical relat one to the Union
as restored, before the recctive houses,
under the Constitution, judge of the
election relurns and qualifications of their
i
own imemberfi. What a position is that!
You struggled for four ye rs to put down a
rebellion; you denied in' he beginning of
the struggle that any ptatO cbuld go Oat of
THE DAILY EVENING - BULLETIN : PHILADELPHIA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1866.
the Union; you said that it had neither the,
right nor the power to do so.;:-The issue l was'-
made, and it has been settled that the State
had neither the right nor:the power to go
out of the Union; with what consisttincy,
after it has been settled by the Militarylarm
Of the Government, and by the public
judgment, that the States had no right to go
out of the' Union, can any one now turn
round and assume that they are out,lthat
they shall not come in. I am free to say to
you, as your Ezecutive, that I am not !pre
pared to take, any such position. [Great
applause.] I said in the Senate, in the
very inception of this rebellion, that the
States had - no right to go out; I asserted,too,
that they had no power to go out; that ques
tion has been settled, and it being settled,
I cannot turn around now, and give the lie
direct to all that I have - professed, and 'all I
have done for the last five years. [Applause.]
When those who rebelled comply with the
Constitution; when they give sufficient
evidence of loyalty; when they showthat
they can be trusted; when they yield obedi
ence to the law that you and I acknowledge
. obedience to, I say extend to theni the
right hand of fellowship, and let peace and
union be restored. [Tremendousapplause.]
I fought traitors and treason in the South.
I opposed the Devises, the Toombs, the Sli
dells, and a long list of others, which. you
can readily fill without my repeating the
names. Now, when I turn round and at Ulf•
other end of the line find men, I care not
by what name you call them, who still stand
opposed to the restoration of the Union of
thesb States, I am free to say to you that I
am still in the field. [Great applause.] I
am still for the preservation of the Union.
I am still in favor of this great GovernMent
of ours going on and on, and filling out its
destiny. [Great applause. Voices—Give us
three names at the other end.]
The President—l am called anon to name
three at the other end of the line. lam
talking to my friends and fellow-citizens,
who are interested with me in this Govern
ment, and I presume I am free to mention
to you the names of those whom I look
upon as being opposed to the fundamental
principles of this Government, and who are
laboring to pervert and destroy it. [Voices, ]
"Name them!" "Who are they?" The
President—You ask me who they are. I
say Thaddeus Stevens, of Pennsylvania, is
one; I say Mr. Sumner, of the Senate, is
another, and Wendell Phillips is another.
[Long continued Applause.] [Voices, "Give
it to lorneyr] The President—ln reply to
that, I will simply say I no not waste my
ammunition upon dead ducks. [Great
laughter and applause.] I stand for in>
country; I stand for the Constitution. There
I have always placed my feet from my
advent to public life. They may traduce,
they may slander, they may vituperate me,
but let me say to you, all this has nu influ
ence upon me. [Great applause.]
Let me say further, that I do not intend
to be overawed by real or pretended friend ,
nor do I wean to be bullied by my enemies.
[Tremendous applause]. Honest convic
tion is my courage, the Constitution is my
guide. I know, my ,countrymen, that It
has been insinuated, no, not insinuated,
it has been said directly in high places,
that if such a usurpatiod of power as I am
charged with had been exercised some tic, ,
hundred years ago in a particular reign, it
would have cost an individual his head.
[Great lauhter]. Of what usurpation has
Andrew Johnson been guilty? None:
None!
is it a usurpation to stand between the
people and the encroachments of power,
because, in a conversation with a fellow
citizen who happened to be a Senator, I Bait'
that I thought amendments to the Consti
tution ought not too frequently to be made:
that if it was continually tinkered with it
would lose ell its prestige and dignity, ank.
the old instrument would be lost sight ol
altogether in a short time, and because, in
the same conversation. I happened to sac
that if it were amended at all, such and such'
an amendment ought to be adopted, it wa,
charged that I was guilty of usurpation 01
power that would have cost a King his
head, in a. certain period of English history.
[Great laughter]. From the same source
the exclamation has gone forth that they
were in the midst of earthquakes; that the y -
were trembling and could not yield
[Laughter].
Yes, fellow-citizens, there is an earth
quake coming; there is a ground-swelling
of popular judgment and indignation.
[Great applause.] The American people
"will speak, and, by their instinct if not
otherwise, they will know who are their
friends and who are their enemies. I have
endeavored to be true to the people in al.
the positions which I have occupied, and
there is hardly a position in this .govern
ment which I have not at some time filled.
I suppose it will be said that this is vanit}
[laughter], but I may say that I have been
in all of them. I have been in both branches
of the State Legislature. [A Voice : "You
commenced a tailor."]
The President—A gentleman behind me
says that I began if tailor. Yes, I did begin
a tailor [applause], and that suggestion does
not discomfit me in the least, for when I
was a tailor I had the reputation of being a
good one, and of making close tit [laughter].
and I was always punctual to my custo
mere, and did good work. [Applause.]
Voices—We will patch up the Union yet.
The President—No, I do not want any
patch work of it; I wont the original arti
cle restored. [Great applause]. But enough
of this facetiousness. I know it may be said.
"Yon are President, and you must not talk
about these things; but, my fellow citizens,
I intend to talk the truth, and when !prin
ciple is involved, when the existence of my
country is in peril, I hold it to be my duty
to speak what I think and what I feel, as I
have always done on former occasions.
[Great applause].
I have said, it has been declared else
where that I was guiltyof usurpation which
would have cost a king his head, and in
another place I have been denounced for
whitewashing. When and where did 'I ever
whitewash anything or anybody ? I have
been an alderman of a town, I have been
in both branches of the Legislature of my
State, I have been in both Louse of the Na
tional Congress, I have been at the head of
the Executive Department of my State, I
have been Vice President of the United
States, and lam now in the position 'which
I occupy before you, and during all this ca
reer where is the man and what portion
of the people is there who can say that
Andrew Johnson ever made a pledgelwhich
he did not redeem, or that he ever made a
promise which he violated? None., Now
point me to the man who can say that An
drew Johnson ever acted with infidelity to
the great mass of the people. [Great ap
plause,] i
Men may talk about beheading and about
'usurpation, bnt when 1 ambeheaded I want
the American people to be the witnesses. I
do hot want it, by innuendoes and indirect
remarks in high places,. to be suggeSted to
men who have assassination brooding in
their bosoms, there is a fit subject. Others
have exclaimed that the Presidentihl ob
stacle must be gotten out of the way." What
is that but a make-use of a krong word in
citing to assassination? No doubt,
.1.1 say,
the intention was to incite assassination, so
the obstacle which the people hadraceo
here could be got out of the way, re the
opponents of this Government not ye,t satis
fied; are those who want to destroy Sur in
stitution and to change the character' of the
Government, not satisfied with the quantity
of blood that has been shed. Are thhy not
satisfied with one martyr in this place?
Does not the blood of Lincoln appease their
vengeance and is their thirst still unslaked?
Do they still want more blood? Hays they_
not honor and courage enough to peek to
obtain the end otherwise than throun:and
by the hand of an assassin. lam no afraid
of an assassin attacking . me where tin brave
l i
AEA courageouso ulu-will'attack auo er. I
d him when in dis
only e. Ja‘
his foottiteplaribiselesa. ' • -
If theY.want blood let therdhaVe the
to strike like men. I -know they are.
willing to wound, butafraid to strike. li
my blood iti(to be-shed: because I vindicate
the Union, and insist on the preservation'of
this Government in its original purity, let it
be shed; but let an altar to the Union be
first erected, and then, if necessary, take me
and lay, me uponit, and the.blood that now,
warms and animates my existence shall be
poured out as the last libation, as a tribute
to the Union of these States. [Great ap
plause.] But let the opponents of this Go
vernment remember, when it is poured out,
that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of
the church. This Union will grow, and it
will continue to increase in strength and
power, though it may be cemented and
cleansed in blood. I have already spoken
to you longer than I intended when I came
out. [Go on.]
I merely intended to • make my acknow
ledgments for the honor you have done
me; but before I close allow me to say a word
in regard to the question of amendments to
the Constitution of the United , States.
Shortly after I reached Washington, for the
purpose of being inaugurated as Vice Presi
dent of the United States, I had a conversa
tion with Mr. Lincoln in regard to the con
dition of affairs. We talked particularly in
reference to matters in my own State. I
told him that we had called a Convention,
that we had amended4tlie Constitution, and
that we had abolished slavery in that State,
which was not included in his Emancipation
Proclamation.
All these things met his approbation, and
he gave me words of encouragement. We
talked then about' affairs generally, and
upon the subject of amendments to' the
Constitution of the United States; he said to
me "When the amendment of the Constitu
tion now proposed is adopted by three
fourths of the States, 1 am pretty near done,
or indeed quite done in favor of amending
the Constitution if there was one other
adopted."
I asked him, what is that, Mr. President?
He said I have labored to preserve this
Union. I have toiled during four years; I
have been subjected to calumny and mis
representation. My great and sole desire
has been to preserve these States intaot un
der the Constitution as they were before."
I asked him again, "Mr. President, what
amendment is that which you would pro
. pose?" "Why," said he, "it is- that there
should be an amendment added to the Con
stitution which would compel the States to
send their Senators and Representatives ti
the Congress of the United States. [Great
applause.] The idea was in his mind that
aka part of the doctrine of Secession one of
the means to break up this Government
was that the States, if they saw proper,
iniaht withdraw their Senators and Repre
sentatives, or refuse to elect them. He
wanted even to remove that difficulty by ti
constitutional amendment, compelling the
States to send Senators and Representatives
to Congress.
But what do we now find? The Consti
tution of the country, even that portion of
it v‘ filch allows amendments to the organic
law, expressly provides that no State, with
out its consent, shall be deprived of its
equal suffrage in the Senate, and it also pro
vides that each State shall have at least on,
Representative in the House of Representa
iives•' but yet the position is taken that cer
tain States shall not be represented. Wr
impose taxes upon them; we send our tax
gatherers into every region and portion of
the States.
These people are tit subjects of Govern
ment for the collection of taxes, but whet.
they ask to participate in the legislation o•
the country, they are met at the door and
told no, you must pay taxes, you must bear
burdens of Government, but you cannot
participate in its legislation which is to affec
you through all time to come. Is this justice,
is it fair? [No, no].
I repeat I am for the Union. lam for
preserving all the States. lam for admit
ting into the councils of the nation all the
representatives who are unmistakably and
unquestionably loyal. A man who ac
knowledges allegiance to the Government.
and who swears to support the Constitution.
must necessarily be loyal. A man cannot
take that oath in good faith unless he is
loyal.
A mere amplification of the oath makes
no difference as to the principle. Whatever
test is thought proper as evidence and as
proof of loyalty, is a mere matter of detail,
about which I care nothing; but let a man
be unmistakably and unquestionably loyal,
let him acknowledge allegiance to the Con
stitution of the United States, and be willing
to support the Government in its hour of
peril and its hour of need, and I am willing
to trust him. [Applause].
I know that some do not attach as much
importance to this point as I do, but I re
gard it as a fundamental one. The prin
ciple that carried us through the revolution
was that there should be no taxation with
out representation. I hold to that principle,
which was laid down as fundamental by
our fathers. If it was good then it is good
now. If it was worth standing by then, it
is Nec.rth standing by now. It is funda
mental, and should be observed as long as
free government lasts.
I am aware that in the midst of the rebel
bellion it was said by some that the Consti
tution bad been rolled up as a piece of
parchment and laid away ; that in time of
war and rebellion there was no Constitu
tion. We know that sometimes, in great
necessity, under great emergencies, uncon
stitutional things must sometimes necessa
rily be done, in order to preserve the Con
stitution itself; but it; while the rebellion
was going on the Constitution was rolled up
and laid away, if it was violated in some
particulars in order •to save the Govern
ment, and all may be excused and justified,
because in saving the Government you
really saved the Constitution, now that
peace has come, now that the war is over,
we want again the benefit of a written Con
stitution, and I say the time has come to
take the Constitution down, to unroll it, to
re-read it, to understand its provisions
thoroughly, and now, in order to save the
Government, we must preserve the Con
stitution.
Out only safety is in a strict adherence to
and preservation of the Constitution of our
fathers. It is now unfolded. It must now
be read, it:must now be digested and un
derstood by the American people. I am
here to-day, then, in making these remarks
to vindicate the Constitution and to save it,
as I believe, for it does seem as if encroach
ment after encroachment is proposed" upon
it. As far as I can I have ever resisted en
croachments upon the Constitution, and I
stand prepared to resist them to-day, and
thereby to preserve the Constitution and the
Government of the United States. [Great
applause.]
It is now a time of peace, and let us have
peace; let us enforce the Constitution; lotus
live under, and according to its provisions;
let it be published and printed in blazing
characters as though it were in the heavens,
and punctuated by the stars, sa that all can
read and can,understand. Let us consult
that instrument and be guided by its pro
visions. Iset us understand their under
standing, and abide by them.
I tell the opposers of this Government I
care not from what quarter they come,
East or West, North or South, you that are
engaged in the work, of breaking up the
Government, are mistaken. The Constitu
tion of the United States and the principles
of free Government are deeply roosted in the
American heart, and all the powers, com
bined cannot destroy that great instrument,
that great chart of freedom.
Their attempts, though they may seem to .
succeed., for, a time, will be futile. They
might as well undertake to lock up the
winds:or chain the waves of the: ocean and
con Arm them within 'knits, They might aS
well ulidertako . to /veil the constitution,
•
And where
and indeed it seems now to be: supposed
that it can be repealed-by a concurrent reso
lntion. [Laughter.] --
But when the question is submitted to the •
popular judgment, and to the mass t of the
people, these men wilt find that they might'
just as well introduce`a resolution to repeal
the laws of gravitation. The attempt to
keep this Union from being restored just
about as feasible as would be resistance to
the greatlaw of gravitation, which binds
all to a common centre.
The great law of political gravitation will
bring back these States, and replace them
in all their relations to the Federal Govern-
Ment. Cliques and cabal., and Conspira
cies, and machinations, North or South,
cannot prevent this great consummation.
[Tremendous applause.] All that is wanted
is time. Let the American people get to
understand what is going on, and they will
soon manifest their determination.
Here, by way of explanation, let me say,
that I would to God' the whole American
people could bekassenibled here to-day, as
you are. I wish there was a vast amphi
theatre here, capacious enough to contain
the whole thirty millions, and they could
witness the great struggle that is going on
td preserve the Constitution of their fathers.
They would soon settle the question, if they
could, once see how things are; if they
could:see the kind of spirit that is mani
fested in the effort to break up the real
principles of free Government; when they
came to understand who was for them, and
who against them; who was for ameliorat
ing the condition, and: who for elevating
them by preserving their Government. If
the combatants could stand before them,
and there could be a regular set-to between
the respective gladiators, in the first tilt that
might be made you would find that the
enemies of the country, would be crashed,
and the people would sustain its friends and
the friends of constitutionaLliberty. [Great
cheering.]
My fellow-citizens, I have detained you
much longer than I intended [" go on ; go
on "], but we are in a great struggle, and I
im your instrument, and I have thought it
best to express myself frankly when I'ask
you, have I usurped authority? Who is it
in this country that I have not toiled and
labored for? Where is the man or the wo
man, either in private life or public life, that
has not always received my attention and
my time?
Sometimes it has been said (pardon me for
being a little egotistical, and we are engaged
in a friendly and familiar conversation).
" That man Johnson is a lucky man.
"Laughter.] They can never defeat him."
Laughter.] N'ow I will tell yon what con(
stitutes my good luck. It is in doing right
and being for the people. [Great applause.]
The people, somehow or other,
although
their sagacity and good judgment are very
frequently underrated, and under-estimated
generally, get to find out and understand
who is for them and who is against them.
They do it by instinct, if in no other way.
They know who is their friend. They know
in whom they can confide.
So far, thank God, I can lay my hand
upon my bosom, and state with heartfelt
satisfaction, that in all the positions in
which I have been placed, and I have been
place; - : in many that were as trying as any
in which mortal has been placed, I have
never deserted, them, nor do I believe they
will desert me. [No, no, and applause.]
Whom have I betrayed? What princi
ple have I violated? What sentiment have
I swerved from? Can those who aqssil me
put their finger upon any one ? No, no. In
all the speeches that have been made no one
.has dared to put his finger upon a single
principle I ever asserted from which I have
deviated.
Have you not heard some of them, at
some time, attempt to quote my prede
decessor, who fell a martyr to his country's
cause, but they can give no sentiment of his
that it in opposition or contradiction to any
thing that I have done.
The very policy that lam now pursuing
was pursued by me under his administra
tion,l having been appointed by him in a
particular position for that very purpose.
An inscrutable Providence saw proper to
remove him from this to (I trust) a better
world, and I came into his place, and there
is not a principle of his, in reference to the
restoration of the Union, from which I have
departed. None.
Then the war is not simply upon me, but
it is upon, my predecessor also. I have
tried to do my duty. I know that some are
envious and jealous,and speak of the White
House as having attractions for the Presi
dent. Let me say to you, the charms of the.
White House have as little' influence upon
me as upon any individual in this country,
and much less upon me than upon those
who are talking about it.
The little, that I eat and wear, does not
amount to much, and the amount
which is enough to sustain me and my
little family, is very small; for lam not
kin to many folks by' consanguinity,
though by
_affinity I am akin to everybody.
The proud and conscientious satisfaction of
having performed my duty to my coun
try, to my children and to the inner
man, is all the reward that I ask. [Great
applause].
In conclusion, let me ask this vast con
course here to-day, this sea of upturned
faces, to come with me, or I will go with
you and stand around the Constitution of
our country. It is again unfolded. The
people are invited to read and understand,
to sustain and maintain its provisions.
Let us stand by the Constitution of our
fathers, though the heavens should fall.
Though faction may rage, though taunts
and jeers may come, though abuse and vi
tuperation may be poured out in the most
virulent form, I mean to be found standing
by the Constitution of the country; standing
by the Constitution as the chief ark of our
safety, as the palladium of our civil and re
ligious liberty.
Yes ' let us cling to it as the mariner clings
to the last plank, when the night and the
tempest close around him. Accept my
thanks, nay countrymen, for the indulgence
you have extended to me while submitting
to you extemporaneously, and, perhaps, in
coherently, the remarks which I have now
made. Let us go away forgetting the past,
and looking to the future, resolved toendea
vor to restore our Government to its pristine
purity, trusting in Him who is on high, but
who controls all here below,that erelong our
Union will be restored, and that we shall
have peace not only with all the nations of
the earth, but peace and good will among
all parts of the people of the United States.
I thank you for the respect you have
monifestea to me on this occasion, and if
the time shall come during the period of
my existence when this country is to be
destroyed and its Government overturned,
if you will look out you will find the humble
individual who stands before you there
with you, endeavoring to avert its final
destruction.
The President retired amidst a perfect
storm of applause.
The Meeting, In Grover's Theatre.
WASEISGTO . Z7, Feb. 22—[Special to the,
Inottirer.]—Washington has had an exciting
day, not equaled since the assassination of
President Lincoln.
Grover's Theatre has been taken for a
mass meeting, at which the six Republican
Senators who voted to sustain the Presi
dent's veto, and a dozen or two Democratic
gentlemen were to bold forth on sustaining
the policy of President Johnson. At twelve
o'clock the building was browded with 'a
promiscuous audience, and upon the stage
were the City Councils; and a delegation of
Treasury clerks, headed by McCleod.
There came also upon the stage Mr. Tom
Florence, Montgomery 'Blair and Father
Major• General Bartlett, exsMayor Barrett,
S.'S. Cox, Cornelius Wendell, Cengresimen
• Green Clay Smith, -Myer Stronee, Glider
Kerr;' - Bogs, Eldridge, Thornton
Ritter, -Shankliii, - Coffroth, Hogati;, Nichol
- son, 'Marshall; of Illinois, , Ancona; Setutfia'
Saulibury,'Riddle, - Hendricks, McDoug...
&c. It was soon evident that but half of the
audience were with the meeting.
• The meeting was finally called to order,
and Mr. Phillip Pendell was made Chair
man.
He said they had gathered together to in
dorse the President'spolicy for restoring all
the States. [Applause.] The war has ceased.
nearly a year since. Congress has been
about two months in. session and vet the
people of eleven States are not yet repre
sented in Congress. Yet they are estimated._
as in the Union, except-as to representation.
One of the principles which carried us from.
our mother country Was no taxation with
out representation. He vetoed the Freed
men's Bureau bill. [Applause.] • The vov.,e
which shall go forth in this building to-dfLy
will soon be echoed throughout the land that
the Union shall be restored. [Applause.]
S. S. Cox was the first" speaker, and went
off in a tirade against Congress and the Re
publican party. He said Thad. Stevens had
been sent from his Satanic majesty fourteen
barrels of sulphur and matches .to get up
hell on earth [hisses and groans and ap
plause mingled.] He indorsed Rev. H. W.
Beecher, which again drew mingled expres
sions. e denounced Congress as disim
ionists as "black as Jefferson Davis or hell
itself." [Applause and hisses.] Said he
was not going to talk about the:Freedmen's-
Bureau, for he had talked enough about
that nuisance when he was in Congress; but
this contest is whether the people of the
whole United States shall vote next time
for Andrew Johnson for President or not.
[Cries of that's so; give 'em —; applause
and hisses.]
The next speaker was Mr. Kinney, of
who went the whole length of Demo
cratic doctrines, although it I^oked at one
time like a row before the meeting would
hear him, because he Was not the person
they thought he was.
Montgomery Blair was next put forth,
and said : Now we see a party in Congress
who threaten a new outbreak to keep the
Union sundered, which is more dangerous,
if possible, than the rebellion just put down.
They were afraid, if the people ofthe South
were readmitted, that they would join the
Democratic party of the North, and thus
obtain the control of the Government. Will
the white people of the North allow the
blacks to eat up the sustenance of the coun
try? [Loud cries of " No!"]
Every sensible man saw that Secession
was the death of slavery, and this having
taken place, they now seek to inaugurate a
movement which will result in the death of
the freedmen. See Mr. Williams' speech, in
which he charges that every man asking
for representation for the Southern States is
disloyal. Have we not reached a period
when there should be a cessation of this
feeling? Every great President has had oc
casion to check the party spirit of those who
elevated him. Abraham Lincoln put his
foot on this exclusion which these men en
deavor 4o fssten upon the country. Every
one who can see, can see that we are hurry
ing to a war of the races. This meeting au
gurs well for the country. [Applause and
hisses.]
Senator Hendricks said—We are now in
a time when the work of Union is to be done
over again, and the question is, "Can we
perform it ?" [A voice—" Andrew Johnson
can do it."] He continued in the same strain
and was followed by It. F. Merrick.
Mr. Rogers, of New Jersey, made a most
violent and intemperate harangue, assailing
President Lincoln's Administration, charg
ing that it had - robbed the South of mil
lions of dollars, in setting their slaves free,
and now they have set np an odious, pesti
lent oath, to keep the South out of Congress.
He was loudly cheered and hissed by turns.
General Clark, of Indiana, was called out,
and said he would not speak from a stand
that bad been made to slander Abraham.
Lincoln. [Hisses and applause.]
Boyer and Strodse, of Pennsylvania, then
kept up speeches until the meeting ad
.4ourned.
The following resolutions passed show the
tenor of the whole:—
Resolved. That ours is a government of
law; that pun" -hment for offences, however
henious, cannot be dictated by arbitrary
vengeance; that no ex post facto law can be
rightly established, either by statutory en
actment or by constitutional amendment, no
more as against a community than as
against an individual; that as no punish
ment bad ever been provided against a State
for attempting to secede from the Union,
none can now be legitimately inflicted,
either by enforcing disabilities or other
wise; that therefore any delinquent State,
from the moment it returns to its allegiance
and resumes its rightful position as a mem
ber of the Federal Government, becomes
entitled to the exercise of all its rights under
the Constitution. including that •of being
represented in each branch of Congress,
which it enjoyed before the commission of
the offence. It is better that wrong should
go unpunished than that it should be re
dressed through a violation of law.
Resolved, That the only lawful ground on
which any member of either House of Con
gress can be prevented from taking his seat
on an equal footing with any other member,
must be that 'his election, or the returns
thereto, have not been in accordance with
law, or that he doesnot possess the requisite
qualifications for his position, and that in
deciding upon such qualifications none
other can be considered than those pre
scribed in the Constitution of the United
States.
At two outside meetings there were a
dozen or twenty violent harangues, and at
four P. M, the assemblage went up to the
White House to serenade the President.
While the crowd were surging to and fro
in front of the White House, awaiting for
the President to come out, John Went
worth, who was in front and next to the
soldier guard, was pushed hack rather un
ceremoniously by the soldier. He remon
strated quietly, when a policeman came up
and said he would arresthim, if he did not
keep quiet. Mr. Wentworth said he had
not misbehaved, and dared him to try it-
The officer said he would if he did not keep
quiet. Mr. Wentworth replied that he
would not keep quiet, and he dared not
arrest him. With a loud voice, he said,.
"You have murdered Lincoln,and now you
want to destroy Johnson."
Just then one of Mrs. Surratt's counsel
came up inside of the guard and took the ,
police away, when no more outbreaks took
place. The President finally came out of
the White House, in company with Messrs.
Aiken and Clarcpit, ex-Mayor Bennett,.
Cornelius Wendell, Tom Florence, Coyle,
Green Clay Smith and others.
Later from Canada.
HALIFAX, N. S., Feb. 22.—Parliament•
met to-day. Lieutenant-Governor Wil
liams made a speech which coilgratulates.
the members upon the condition of the-
Province. Its trade, and the receipts from
other sources greatly exceed that of any
former year. He is gratified at the condi
tion of the militia, and regrets that not
withstanding the efforts of the British
North American Colonies the United States.
have adhered to their determination to ab
rogate the reciprocity. treaty.' Re is san
guine of 'the- cooperation of the Provinces.
and of the fostering care of England, and
that trade will be so directed in new chan
nels, and the fisheries protected to meet the
emergency forced upon us. Contracts fora,
railroad - from Truro to New Brunswick,
and from Windsor to:Annapolis, have, een
made. The speech is silent, upon the ques
tion of the Confederation of the Provinces.
Two MEN Kii.S.En.The Altoona Tribune
says—" Just as we were about going to press
we lesrned that two men, named Nagle and
Sheehan, were instantly killed, on Wednes
day last, by the caving in 'upon them of an
ore bank, in which they were at work, near
Blair Furnace; a few miles below this place.
They.were buried twenty-four hours before
their bodies were recovered;